The Wise Foundation

JOB EMPLOYMENT

There are two forms of employment you should think of…. ‘job’ employment where you do work to earn money but you really don’t want to do this any longer than you have to and ‘career employment which is the type of work you want to do for much of your life.

What is a ‘job’?

They say you “do what you have to so you can do what you want to…“. Jobs fall into the “have to” category. You typically do a ‘job‘ to build the financial base that would let you buy the education needed to get ‘career‘ employment.

When looking for a job, try to get the job that requires the most skills that you have available to you.

Preparing for the Job Search

We are going to assume that you don’t have much to work with. Let’s assume that you have no skills, no access to the internet, no cell phone, no interview clothes, and no email address. Now if you have ANY of these things, ou are ahead!

TOOLS WE NEED FOR JOB HUNTING

Internet Access

The Internet makes finding a job MUCH easier than it ever has been. If you don’t have access to the internet, go locate a public library with internet access. They will have PCs that you can use to get the rest of the things we will need. You will need to talk to the librarian and they will tell you how the public PCs work.

Getting an Email Address

You will need an email address to communicate with potential employers. Many places will use this as the unique identifier for you. Go to this page to learn how to create your email account from Google.

Getting a Cell Phone

Strangely the Consumer Cellular cell phone company offers remarkable coverage with incredibly low prices. Get the lowest price plan with 1GB data. Use public WIFI instead and save that $5 a month.

Shop for clothing that makes you look professional.

Always dress BETTER than the job you are applying for. Even if you applying for a minimum wage job, dress as sharp and professionally as you can. Make sure you and your clothes are clean, and fit well. No loud patterns or colors. Use neutral colors like black, navy, gray, beige. These are non-threatening colors that work well when interviewing.

Guys: Sport coat, tie, trousers (not jeans), dress shoes, not ‘tennies’

Gals: Tailored pants, a nice blouse or sweater, a blazer, smart-casual footwear like flats or low heels

Job Searching

Internet searches will let you search for many jobs quickly. Using Google Search is the first quick way to begin. Recruiting sites like Monster.com, Indeed.com and others will list jobs suitable for your needs.

Don’t forget the value of personally visiting managers at places you would like to work. Dress sharp, and from time to time stop in and check with the manager to see if they have an opening. Be pleasant, and make some small talk so you don’t seem mercenary. This might take a number of visits over a few months.

Like fishing, casting out more fishing lines increases the likelihood of getting a job interview. Essentially the premise is this:

• Apply for as many jobs as you can.
  
• Interview for as many jobs as you can, knowing you will politely turn down any late job offers when you accept a job.
  
  

Resumes, and Letters of Introduction

This is how to indicate your interest in a job. These might be unfamiliar terms. Here is what they mean:

Letter of Introduction
This is just a simple letter that introduces you to a potential employer. Like a resume, it needs to be custom written for each job offer in order to be effective.

Resume
This is a formal document you write for each job, that lists the skills and details describing you as the best candidate for that job.

Like dressing sharply for an interview, this document makes your first impression with an employer. Because of this It needs to have the following:

• Printed on high quality paper.
  Heavy stock paper, of a color slightly different that normal white paper. Not loud or garish, but a light off-white or cream color is appropriate. Just enough so when yours is sitting in a pile of papers, it stands out and is easy to locate.
  
• Make one for each job that you apply for.
  Make yourself a ‘master’ resume with all of your skills and education on it, then customize a copy of it where you highlight all the skills that the employer is looking for making them easy to spot.
  
• Make sure ALL the Job offer’s requirements are easy to spot on the resume
  On every job offer, they say what skills they are looking for. Make sure when you make your new resume that you use the EXACT same wording as they do, and make sure ALL the skills they want are EASY to see on your resume. Having evaluated hundreds of resumes, I can tell you that an employer mentally checks off the skills in their head as they quickly read your resume. The sooner they can check off those skills on YOUR resume, the sooner it goes into the “call for interview” pile.
  
  
  

FOLLOW UP ON EACH EMPLOYMENT CONTACT

Often the difference between getting the job and not getting the job is just following up. After sending your introduction and resume to an employer, stop by and follow up.

If you mailed the information to them, then stop in when they are not busy just to say “hi” and make sure they got your information.

Say that much. It is as simple as:

• Wait 5 days so they have time to get to your information. After all, they have a job too!
  
• Stopping by the location to see the manager at a slow time
  
• Tell him “I just wanted to stop by and say ‘hi’ and make sure you got my information.
  
• Keep the visit short, and tell them “Thanks for seeing me. I hope we can talk again soon.”
  
  

CONTACT FROM AN EMPLOYER

If the employer thinks you are a good fit, they will contact you using your phone number or your email. It is critical that you monitor these at all times.

If you don’t the employer will move on to the next candidate.

INTERVIEWING

After contacting you, the potential employer will want to schedule a meeting with you to ‘interview’ you to get to understand who you are and if the things that you told him on your resume were true.

KEEPING A JOB

It seems funny to talk about keeping a job when you haven’t got it, but soon you WILL have it!

Some of the things that will keep you employed:

• Always Smile and be Pleasant
  People by their nature like working with pleasant happy people. Now, don’t over do it, but make an effort to always be pleasant even when you feel lousy.
  
  
• Come early, leave late.
  Early sometimes just means as little as 5 minutes. Stay late as little as 5 minutes. The point of arriving early is to show respect for the employer so he will show respect to you. This doesn’t go on your time card either! Staying late for 5 minutes, is again showing respect. Especially stay late when it is to complete an important task.
  
  
• Ask for more work.
  From time to time there will be a “lull” or a space of time where there is no work to be done. The guy who will get fired someday is the guy who just stops working. Be the guy who seeks out his manager and asks “I have some time, is there some more work I can do until it picks up?”
  
  
• Become skilled. Become hard to replace.
  Once a fellow lament to me “Why do I always get fired?” The answer was that if you have no special skills, it is easy to fire you because you can be replaced by ANYONE in two minutes.
  
  Imagine that your boss comes in one morning, he’s hung over, he broke up with his wife, his dog got run over, and when he comes in, you look at him oddly and he takes it wrong.. He fires you because you’re easy to replace. If you are really skilled, he might just mutter to himself “I’d fire him, but it would be a pain in the ass to replace him!” and you DON’T get fired!
  
  
• The Answer is YES
  When your boss asks “can you….” as long as it is not illegal, the answer is YES. They are paying you after all. Not a part of your job? DOESN’T MATTER! By answering YES you show you are the fellow he can depend on and when it is time to trim the workforce, you are the last to get cut!